When I become an American

by Marina Temkina

When I become an American
I will eat half of a grapefruit for breakfast
knowing its sour bitterness
is good for my aging veins.

When I become an American
I’ll think about buying a flag
to feel appropriately enthusiastic
at the beginning of every war.

When I become an American
I will think about my retirement,
real estate prices, life insurances, stocks,
they aren’t yet my primary interests.

When I become an American
I won’t remain lighthearted,
superfluous, un-pragmatic,
missing the point as a genuine misfit-poet.